Method of forming reducing-t&#39;s



METHOD OF FORMING REDUCING TS Filed Aug. 18, 193'? 5 Shee'ts-Sheet lApril 5, 1938. E. M. CARTWRIGHT METHOD OF FORMING REDUQING TS Filed'Aug.18, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 O/ .lel

April 5, 1938. lE; M. CARTWRIGHT 2,113,250

METHOD OF FORMING REDUGING TS Filed Aug. 1S. 1937 s sheets-sheet s%/Jllll J;

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Patented Apr. 5, 1938 UNITED sTATEs PATENT or-'FlcE :413,250 METHOD ormamma nEnUcrNG-Ts Eugene M. Cartwright, Narni wdbury, om.,

assigner to Cline Brau Q Copper Co. Incorporated, Waterbury, ConnecticutConn.,

a corporation of Application Anm: 1s, i937, serial No. 159km Claims.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved method offorming reducing-Ts without distorting the Ts out of shape due to thestrain they are subjected to.

With the above and other objects in view, as will appear to thoseskilled in the art from the present disclosure, this invention includesall features in the said disclosure which are novel over the prior art.

In the accompanying drawings, in which one way is shown for illustrativepurposes:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view partly in section of a cup-shaped blankfor use in making the T- shaped blank from which the reducing-T is to bemade:

Fig. 2 is a view in elevation and partly in section of the T-shapedblank before an end-wall has been removed; n

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 with one endwall removed from one ofthe run-tenninals to form the T-blank;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 after the closedend run-terminal hasbeen reduced;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 of a nished male reducing-T after theend of the reduced runterminal has been removed;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 after all the terminals have beenexpanded to finished form to form a female reducing-T;

Fig. '1 is a view in elevation of a portion of one form of press and dieconstruction for carrying out the present invention, with the T-blankshown in Fig. 3 omitted;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8 8 of Fig. '7 with theT-blank of Fig. 3 in position for the reducing operation;

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8, with the parts of the press andA dieat the end oi' the reducing operation;

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 8, with the parts of the press and diereturned to their initial position and with the reduced-T blank readyfor removal; and y Fig. 11 is a transverse sectional view taken on theline II-II of Fig. 10.

In the description and claims, the various parts and steps areidentiiied by specinc names for convenience, but they are intended to beas generic in their application as the prior art will permit.

Referring to the drawings, the cup-shaped blank 20 shown 'in Fig. 1 maybe produced in any suitable way, and is subjected to a series ofoperations to reduce it to the T-shaped form of the blank 2| shown inFig. 2. In performing this series of operations, the lower end 22 of theblank `2|l is given a series of bulging-out operations, as

indicated by the broken line 23, and the blank -is shortened asindicated bythe broken line 24.

This series of operations for changing the blank 2lil into the blank 2|may be performed in accordance with the disclosure of the applicationSerial No. 141,936 of Franz B. Wendel, tiled May 11, 1937, or the blank2| may be produced in any other desired or known way. 'I'he blank 2|next has its end-wall 25 cut oiI and has the thus opened run-end reamedout to produce the T- blank 26 of Fig. 3 ready for operation inaccordance with the present invention.

- 'I'he press 21 has a press-bed 28 and a pair of spaced-apartupright-guides 28. The top or head of the press is not shown. A die-bed3|) is xedly mounted upon the press-bed 28 in any suitable manner.Resiliently yieldable means, such for example as an air cylinder pad 3|is located in an opening 32 in the press-bed 28, and is normally forced`upwardly against the bottom o'f the diebed Why a piston (not shown) ofan air cylinder (not shown) which is normally in communication with asource of supply of compressed air.

A mandrel 33 has a iiange 34 enga-ging against the die-bed and ascrew-threaded shank or tang screW-threadedly engaged in a threaded holein the die-bed 38. A backing-sleeve 36 is slidably mounted upon themandrel 33 and has a base 31 normally resting upon a plurality ofthrust-rods 38, preferably four in number, which rods 38 extend throughholes 39 in the die-bed 30 and rest against the top of the air-cylinderpad 3|.

The mandrel 33 has air-relief hole 40 which intersects a. transverseair-relief hole 4| which by connection through fiat portion 44- is ableto release air through one or the other of holes 42,`

UJI

The'slide 41 has a central hole 49 intersected by a slot 50 whichextends across through the slide 41. The reducing-die 48 has a centralhole 5l with an annular chamfered entrance 52 leading thereto. Aknock-out or knock-out plunger 53 is slidably mounted in the hole 5| andhas a shank 54 detachably connected by a screw 55 to a plug 56 whichslides in the hole 49. The knockout bar 51 extends transversely througha hole 58 in the plug 56 and may be rmly secured therein, the oppositeends of the knock-out bar 51 being in position to engage the abutments46.

In carrying out the method of making a, reducing-T in according with thepresent invention, a, T-blank of the form shown at 26 in Fi'g. 3 has itsopen run-end 59 placed down over the mandrel 33 and backing-sleeve 36,as shown in Fig. 8, with the branch end 60 extending out transverselyfrom the backing-sleeve 36 and the mandrel 33 and with the closedend-wall 6! engaging over the upper end of the backingsleeve andmandrel. The press is then put in operation to bring the slide 41 andthe closingi in or reducing-die 48 downward, the closing-in die engagingand reducing the closed run-end 62 by forcing thevbacking-sleeve 36 toretire against the resistance of the air-cylinder pad 3l concomitantlywith 'the advance of the closing-in die 48 to the position shown inFig.9. The press is then reversed to raise the slide 41 and the closing-indie 48, whereupon `the backing-sleeve 36 is forced upward by theair-cylinder pad 3l to thus strip the reduced T-blank 63 0E of themandrel 33. The continued upward movement of the press-slide results inthe knock-out bar 51 striking the abutments 46 and forcing the knockoutplug 53 downward and thus, in the event that the reduced run-end 65frictionally adheres withthus shown when this T is to be used to havethe run and branch ends inserted in the ends of pipes for connectionthereto. Where, however, the connection with pipes is to be made byhaving the pipe-end inserted into-the run and branch ends, then the runand branch ends are enlarged to the female form shown in Fig. 6 bysuitable expanding operations.

The invention may be carried out in other specific ways than that hereinset forth without departing from the spirit and essentialcharacteristics of the invention, and the present embodiment is,therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and notrestrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalencyrange of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.

I claim: y

1. The method of forming reducing-Ts, comprising: providing a T-blankhaving a run-portion and a branch-portion leading from the saidrun-portion intermediate the opposite ends thereof, the said run-portionincluding a rst terminalghaving a tubular side-walllwhich is open at itsend and a second terminal having a tubular side-wall and an end-wallextending inwardly from the said side-wall; supporting the T-blank bymeans of the end-wall of its said second terminal and subjecting thesaid second-terminal of the T-bla-nk to a forming operation to reducethe diameter of the tubular side-wall of the said second terminal andadd at least a portion of the material of the said end-wall thereof tothe reduced tubular side-wall; and opening the end oi.' i

the now reduced second terminal of the T-blank.

2. The method of forming branch pipe-fittings having run-portionsreduced at one end, comprising: preforming a branch pipe-fitting blankwith open and closed run-ends; concentrically arranging on a mandrelsized to correspond to the desired reducedrun-end, the run-portion `ofsaid blank with the closed end thereof supportably engaged by the end ofsaid mandrel; subjecting the closed run-end thus supported to adrawing-down operation acting initially on the closed run-,end to drawdown a peripheral portion of the end-wall thereof into conformity withthe mandrel; extending the drawing-down operation along said mandrel toprogressively reduce the closed run-end and merging the drawndownperipheral portion of said end-wall therewith; supporting thediminishing unreduced runportion of the pipe-fitting blankconcentrically with respect to the mandrel'during the continuance of thedrawing-down operation; and severing therequired amount from the outerend of the reduced run-end to render it open and of the desired length.o

3. The method of forming branch pipe-fittings with reduced and unreducedrun-ends, comprisingzApreforming a branch pipe-fitting blank with arun-portion of uniform diameter from end to end and with an end-wall onone of the runends thereof; concentrically arranging the runportion ofsaid blank on a mandrel sized to correspond to a desired reduced run-endwith which the pipe-fitting lis to be provided and with said end-Wall inengagement with the end of said mandrel to support the blank fromendwise displacement on the mandrel; interposing a yieldably-mountedbacking-sleeve between said mandrei and said run-portion of the blankwith its outer end in engagement with said end-wall; applying to saidend-wall a reducing die sized to correspond to the desired reducedrun-end, to the end-wall at the outer end of said run-portion, whereby aportion of said end-wall is converted into a reduced side-wall; movingthe reducing die axially along the mandrel and forcibly receding thebacking-sleeve as the reducing action continues; and in severing an endportion of the reduced run-end therefrom to render it of predeterminedlength.

4. The method of forming a branch-fitting having a run-portioncomprising unreduced and reduced run-ends, comprising: preforming abranch-fitting blank with the run-end to be reduced at least partlyclosed by an end-wall; concentrically arranging the run-portion of saidblank on a mandrel sized to correspond to the desired reduced run-end bymeans of a backingsleeve; placing said run-portion of the blank to besupportably engaged by the end of said mandrel to be held against axialmovement thereon; applying a reducing-die sized to correspond to theexterior surface of the desired reduced runend to thesupportably-engaged run-end to draw down at least a. portion of saidend-wall into conformity with said mandrel; moving said drawdie alongsaid mandrel to merge said end-wall portion in the reduced run-end;continuing the drawing-down operation while causing the backing-sleeveto recede in synchronism with the advance movement of the draw-diewhereby the Cil gation of the run-end during its reduction; and insevering the outer end-portion from the reduced run-end to render saidrun-end of predetermined length.

5. The method of forming reducing-dies, consisting in: forming a T-blankwith one of its run-ends open and with the other of its runends, atleast partly, closed by a transverse Wall; placing the run-portion ofthe T-blank over a sizing mandrel with said transverse wall inengagement with the end of said mandrel to prevent axial displacementthereon; `subjecting the run-end with the transverse wall to a drawingoperation on the mandrel to reduce its diameter while incorporating inthe reduced tubular wall thereof at least a portion of the saidtransverse Wall; centering the run-portion of the'T-blank and supportingthe diminishing unreduced remainder of the run-end being reduced bymeans of a backing-sleeve slidable on the sized outer wall of themandrel and displaceable by the drawing operation, and in severing theouter end of run-end of predetermined length.

EUGENE M. CARTWRIGHT.

